Sultans' Heir, 'His Majetski'
RABAT, MOROCCO--When Mohammed VI ascended to the throne in 1999, Moroccans quickly saw a new kind of king, compared with his late father, Hassan II. Although he described the change blandly as a "different concept of authority," what most people saw was a de facto repudiation of his father's repression and autocratic manner. Now 41, the new monarch likes to drive his own car--and stop at stoplights--while puffing on a Marlboro. He has partied with Elton John and the American rapper P. Diddy. And his pursuit of recreation, from jogging to racing the royal Jet Ski, earned him the nickname "His Majetski."
Reforms. His image in some quarters as a bachelor playboy unready for power has faded, though, as this young descendant of the sultans--and of the prophet Muhammad--has launched dramatic reforms in politics, human rights, family matters, and economics. Moroccan journalists still must work within limits, but recent articles have explored once taboo topics like the cost of the monarchy and the king's work habits. He also married a modern woman, a computer engineer named Salma Bennani. "The way he was reforming his own country," says a royal adviser, Andre Azoulay, "was in line with his own life."
Now, the king, once viewed as a lightweight, is touted as the indispensable agent of change: shaking up the makhzen (the palace clique), emboldening political parties, and turning back the Islamists. But don't count on a European-style monarchy. It seems this king expects to rule as well as reign.
This story appears in the May 9, 2005 print edition of U.S. News & World Report.
advertisement
